Comparative study of Fischer-Tropsch production and post-combustion CO2 capture at an oil refinery: Economic evaluation and GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) balances

The impact on CO2 emissions of integrating new technologies (a biomass-to-Fischer-Tropsch fuel plant and a post-combustion CO2 capture plant) with a complex refinery has previously been investigated separately by the authors. In the present study these designs are integrated with a refinery and evaluated from the point-of-view of economics and GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) emissions and are compared to a reference refinery. Stand-alone Fischer-Tropsch fuel production is included for comparison. To account for uncertainties in the future energy market, the assessment has been conducted for different future energy market conditions. For the post-combustion CO2 capture process to be profitable, the present study stresses the importance of a high charge for CO2 emission. A policy support for biofuels is essential for the biomass-to-Fischer-Tropsch fuel production to be profitable. The level of the support, however, differs depending on scenario. In general, a high charge for CO2 economically favours Fischer-Tropsch fuel production, while a low charge for CO2 economically favours Fischer-Tropsch fuel production. Integrated Fischer-Tropsch fuel production is most profitable in scenarios with a low wood fuel price. The stand-alone alternative shows no profitability in any of the studied scenarios. Moreover, the high investment costs make all the studied cases sensitive to variations in capital costs.